DUSHANBE, May 27, Asia-Plus — Specialists from the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MoEDT) expect fuel prices to rise in the country in the near future.
According to them, a new price hike results not only from world market trends but also from the rising cost of petroleum products in the countries, which provide the bulk of Tajikistan’s fuel imports.
Moreover, Kazakhstan, which accounts for 15 percent of Tajikistan’s fuel imports, has banned fuel exports.
We will recall that Kazakhstan’s Premier Karim Masimov on May 19 signed a resolution banning fuel exports. The resolution will be effective from June 1 and last through August. Kazakhstan justified the decision as based on intention to stabilize Kazakhstan’s domestic market of petroleum products.
According to the MoEDT specialists, a spike in gasoline prices will lead to increase in prices of many basic food products in the country.
According to the ministry, over the first four months of this year, Tajikistan has imported 180,000 tons of petroleum products; 150,000 tons of them have been imported from Russia and 21,000 tons from Kazakhstan, and the remainder has been imported from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
